Sokovia Accords
: "The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries, it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organisation. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary." : ― Thaddeus Ross The Sokovia Accords were a set of legal documents that were designed to regulate the activities of enhanced individuals, specifically those who work for either government agencies such as S.H.I.E.L.D. or for private organisations such as the Avengers. Established by the United Nations and ratified by 117 nations, the accords served as a "middle point" between the Avengers' desire to secure world peace and the international community's concern over the repercussions of the Avengers' actions. History Approaching the Avengers In 2016, a devastating terrorist attack in Lagos, Nigeria resulted in the deaths of twenty-six people, eleven of the victims being relief workers from the African nation of Wakanda. The attack, which was deemed a public relations disaster, prompted the international community to call on the United Nations to create a system of accountability. One month after the attack, Thaddeus Ross, who had been recently appointed Secretary of State by President Matthew Ellis, approached the Avengers and stated that public opinion was increasingly divided, with many viewing them as heroes and others viewing them as vigilantes. He presented archive footage from New York, Washington D.C., Sokovia and Lagos, all showing destruction and civilians fleeing for their lives to justify governmental oversight for the Avengers, telling them that they have to retire if they did not comply, before leaving to allow them to discuss it among themselves. Impact on S.H.I.E.L.D. Since the end of the HYDRA Uprising the US intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. officially didn't exist anymore. However, it continued to secretly operate as the black ops division of President Matthew Ellis's administration. When the Accords were ratified by the US Government, the President sent Brigadier General Glenn Talbot to speak with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Director Phil Coulson about registering all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "undocumented enhanced assets", mainly the Inhuman operatives, because that was required by the Accords. Talbot and Coulson had a discussion about the rightfulness of the Accords themselves, compared to the Index of Superhumans once used by S.H.I.E.L.D. and eventually regretted. However, Talbot revealed to the President the location of the Playground. Under the leadership of a new director, Jeffrey Mace, S.H.I.E.L.D. accepted the Accords, therefore becoming legal again. Questioning Effectivity According to a newspaper clipping several months after the defeat of Hive, Quake's vigilantism made some people question the effectivity of the Accords in actual implementation of the measures. Unintended Consequences The Watchdogs, with the help of Senator Ellen Nadeer, got the list from the Accords of several Inhumans around the world and their locations. They caused blackouts in major cities around the world, and one of the Watchdogs presented himself as an Inhuman to the world in order to incite anti-Inhuman bigotry, claiming that more blackouts would occur if the registration of Inhumans did not stop. Other Watchdogs members used the blackout in order to kill 17 registered Inhumans. In 2018, the Infinity War came upon Earth when the Black Order arrived in search of the Time and Mind Stones, which they intended to collect for their adoptive father Thanos, who intended to wipe out half of all life in the universe. After Iron Man disappeared in the aftermath of the Attack on Greenwich Village and Vision was almost killed by Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, it became clear to James Rhodes that the Accords had seriously weakened the Avengers. After the fugitive Avengers arrived after rescuing Vision, Thaddeus Ross ordered Rhodes to arrest them even though, as Rogers pointed out, the remaining Avengers needed all the help they could get. Rhodes, already regretting his support for the Accords and alienated by Ross's warped priorities, ended the call and went with the fugitives to Wakanda, knowing he would be court-martialled. Discontinuation The Sokovia Accords were discontinued in 2023, after Tony Stark sacrificed himself during the Battle of Earth to end Thanos' war on Earth, much to the dismay of Pepper Potts and the Avengers. Following this, Thaddeus Ross decided to discontinue the Accords. Regulations Known Regulations * The Avengers will no longer be a private organisation and will operate under the supervision of the United Nations. * Any enhanced individuals who agree to sign must register with the United Nations and provide bio-metric data such as fingerprints and DNA samples. ** Those with innate powers must submit to a power analysis, which will categorise their threat level and determine potential health risks. * Any enhanced individuals who do not sign will not be allowed to participate in any national or international conflict nor may participate in missions undertaken by the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., or any other intelligence organisation. * Enhanced individuals, including members of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, will no longer have the authorisation to cross international boundaries at any time they wish. ** They must be given clearance by either a nation's government or the United Nations subcommittee before taking any action in that country, either on their own or as a part of an organisation. * If an enhanced individual takes unauthorised action or obstructs the actions of those acting in accordance with the Accords, they will be arrested. ** Enhanced individuals who break the law, violate the Accords or are otherwise deemed to be a threat to the general public may be detained indefinitely without trial. * All enhanced individuals with innate powers who agree to sign the Accords must wear tracking bracelets at all times. * The creation of any and all artificial intelligence is strictly prohibited. Extra Information For the purposes of the Accords, an "enhanced individual" is defined as any person, human or otherwise, with superhuman capabilities. This includes individuals whose powers are an innate function of their biology as well as individuals who utilise highly advanced technology to grant themselves superhuman capabilities. However, individuals with advanced prostheses do not seem to be considered "enhanced", even if their prostheses give them capabilities beyond those of ordinary humans. All non-enhanced individuals are subject to the same conditions as enhanced individuals, with Black Widow being required to sign so she could continue serving on the Avengers and Hawkeye being incarcerated after violating the Accords. Key Players Category:Items